Short Summary

A party of one hundred Ugandan Asians travelled to the port of Mombasa in Kenya on Tuesday (19 Sept) on their way to Bombay to make a new life in India.

Description

A party of one hundred Ugandan Asians travelled to the port of Mombasa in Kenya on Tuesday (19 Sept) on their way to Bombay to make a new life in India.

The expelled Asians travelled in a special train - which reached Mombasa ten hours late after being delayed at the Ugandan border. The passengers alleged that they were robbed and beaten by troops and police before the train was allowed to move into Kenya.

SYNOPSIS: The small Kenyan railway station at Mtito Andei was one of the first stops on a journey to India for one hundred Asians expelled from Uganda on Tuesday. The passengers spoke of their experience a few hours earlier at the Ugandan border.

The special train was taking the Asians to the port of Mombasa - from where they were due to travel by ship to Bombay. Many of the Asians had been born in Uganda - India will be a foreign country to them.

It was ironic that the railway on which they travelled eastward was that built by their forebears was that built by their forebears at the turn of the century. Many of the founders of the Asian community in Uganda were brought to East Africa to lay these tracks.

At Voi Station, further down the line a friendly greeting for the refugees from a group of Asians living int he neighbourhood. They gathered on the station platform with words of encouragement for the expelled Asians.

Police kept watch on the platform - but made no move to prevent the Kenyan Asians providing the passengers with Asian delicacies to help them on their long journey. Representatives of the Hindu Union in Kenya, who gave help to the passengers on this journey, had warm praise for the conduct of Kenyan police and immigration officials working with the Asians.

After the stop at Voi..on again. The train was glare dy ten hours late..delay caused mainly by hold-ups at the Ugandan border. The passengers were in good spirits, and looking forward to their new life in India.